It’s one of my favorite times of the year… December. I love December. The whole month. First of all, I start my Christmas shopping in June, so I don’t have a lot of shopping to do this month. I get to enjoy the pretty lights and sites without getting too stressed. I love the fact I get to see my family in Newfoundland, and I get together with friends I haven’t seen in a while. And it will probably come as no surprise, I love the wine often enjoyed at these get-togethers.
Here’s a new local wine I’ve tried recently. The Blomidon Estate Winery has this lovely unoaked Chardonnay. I loved this crisp clean version of a Chardonnay, it was almost Burgundian, but it was also uniquely Blomidon. Simon Rafuse is the talented winemaker at Blomidon, and I had the pleasure of meeting him about a year ago. I’m also excited because the next portion of my quest to become a Sommelier involves working with Simon in his vineyard for a couple of days this coming Spring. Gorgeous peach and apple flavors, and since it did not undergo malolactic fermentation, it has a wonderful fresh acidity. If you love Chardonnay but not the oak associated with so many of them, this is the wine for you.
I’ve written about Kim Crawford wines in the past, and this past week I discovered they have a Merlot. And I loved it! I haven’t had a lot of experience with Merlot wines from New Zealand, but this won me over. Smooth and juicy with all kinds of berry and plum flavors, it also has delicious spicy notes on the palate. The next time you have pork, give this a try, I think you will love it as much as I do.
My new favorite find of the week. Hailing from Oregon, but crafted by California winemakers, this beautiful Pinot Noir is from Copper Cane and is called Elouan. I think I may have found my Christmas gift to myself. Coming from 3 different regions of Oregon, including the famous Willamette Valley, the winemaker says the diversity of the regions is reflected in the wine, giving it a deep intensity but not losing any of the acidity. The delicious blueberry and spice flavors will pair with chicken, lamb, duck, cheese, not to mention Christmas wrapping, Christmas decorating or sitting in a chair procrastinating about all the work that needs to be done for Christmas. This wine goes with everything.
I have a lot of work to do today including wrapping and getting ready for Christmas. But this will be me later this evening… fireplace on, feet up, glass of wine in my hand.
I know this is a busy time of the year and we can easily get stretched to our limits. Don’t forget to take a moment for yourself. The work will still get done, it always does.
Enjoy the entire month, not just the one day. Till next week, Cheers
Darlene
Wine-It’s Just My Opinion 